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In preparation for a presentation on "Reading Technology," I'm interested in balancing the ledger regarding the use of computers. The great advantages are obvious, but each of us has probably felt some negatives as well. I invite your response to this topic either to me personally or to the listserv publicly, with all of your responses eventually being shared at the Inkshed Conference in May. You might call this "Pre-presentation Inkshedding!" As an introduction, I offer a reflection on an earlier mechanization: I grew up on an irrigation farm in southern Alberta. I remember the alternating intervals of rushed digging and relaxation in the early period, when all we had was flood irrigation: we would open the ditches, direct the water, and then wait--sometimes for hours--while the water spread over the field. Then we'd change the diversion, judge where the water would spread, and relax again--sometimes for only a half hour, sometimes for two hours. I read a lot on those hot, prairie days. When the first sprinkler systems came, however, we lugged the wet pipes through mud to dry ground (wheeled pipes came later), set the system for four to eight hours, and then go to other work, with the roaring motor driving the pump and sprinklers 24 hours a day. In spring, with short settings, we wouldn't get much sleep, napping in the truck between settings at night. Yes, the farm profits went up, but so did the fuel bills, the taxes, and the equipment costs. Gradually, of course, as mechanized irrigation grew, the whole system became automated, giving rise to the huge pivots of today, irrigating huge fields with no labour involved. Sitting at my computer for hours, shoulders tired and wrists aching, I sometimes remember the joys of reading while waiting for the water to spread. Am I just in the early "sprinkler" phase of computing, with high time demands fueled by high output demands in an early phases of the new technology? Will the demands eventually ease? But with that easing, will more of my younger colleagues lose their jobs? --------------------- I'll post more reflections to elicit response for the Inkshed Conference, but this is enough for a beginning. Cheers to all. Henry Hubert ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Henry A. Hubert | [log in to unmask] Department of English and Modern Languages . University College of the Cariboo | Ph. 250-828-5236 P.O. Box 3010 . FAX 250-371-5697 Kamloops, B. C. | V2C 5N3 . -------------------------------------------------------------------------